Field Notes from Kip Cullers

Question: What type of tillage tools do you use to prepare your fields for corn and soybeans?

Kip: Because of my experience is raising small-seeded vegetable crops, I tend to use a lot of tillage. I apply poultry litter to my fields and that requires more tillage such as multiple-disking plus moldboard plowing, to make sure there are no layers formed in the soil that would interfere with root growth and water and air movement. I also use a ripper if needed to break up compaction deeper down in the soil profile.

Question: What management practices can I incorporate prior to R1 to minimize pod abortion at this stage? I am an irrigated farmer.

Kip: Labeled applications of fungicide and insecticide can be helpful in reducing pod abortion when used prior to flowering. Additionally I use vinegar in an attempt to minimize plant height at single digit ounces per acre. HOWEVER, the science behind this technique is not well understood. I also foliar feed just prior to bloom with P and K.

Question: Do you inoculate the soil with bacteria or mychorrizae or use biostimulants through the pivot? If so, how often?

Kip: I apply 200 lbs/acre of humate powder as a soil treatment every year and apply a bio-stimulant to my corn seed. I have not inoculated with Rhyzobia or mychorrizae on soybeans in the past, but I plan to use Optimize seed treatment.

Question: What populations do you plant at?

Kip: On corn contest plots I plant at 56,000 seeds per acre in a twin-row diamond pattern. On my pivots, I plant at 44,000 seeds per acre and on non-irrigated ground I plant at 32,000.

We're still trying to figure out the best planting rates for soybeans. For our contest plots we will probably shoot for a final stand of about 230,000 per acre. All of our commercial acres are double-cropped beans and will be planted at a lower population. We do on-farm plant population studies every year to fine-tune our planting rates for both crops.

Question: Do you use a different planter for your contest acres than you use for your production acres?

Kip: Yes, I use a Monosem 8-row twin-row planter that is 30" on center with 9½" of separation between the twin rows for my contest fields. For my production acres, I use a John Deere air planter. The Monosem is a precision planter usually used for vegetable production where plant-to-plant spacing is absolutely critical. I like this planter because you can easily adjust it for kernel size to avoid doubles.

Question: When do you typically start to plant?

Kip: I'm off to a good start already with about 1,000 acres of corn in the ground and emerging nicely. I like to get my full-season soybeans planted by approximately April 15th.